Arjuna Ranatunga, the former Sri Lankan captain and serial Warne-baiter, haslabeled Shane Warne as a potential liability for the forthcoming Test seriesagainst Sri Lanka and described Australia’s current team as “unimpressive.”In an interview with Australia newspapers, Ranatunga, now a politician,believes Sri Lanka’s batsmen have little to fear if, as expected, Warne isnamed in Australia’s Test squad on Friday for the first time since aone-year drugs ban.”I feel that they will struggle, especially under these conditions,”Ranatunga is quoted as saying. “The present Australian team areunimpressive, when you look at the teams they used to have with the Waughsand Glenn McGrath.””Sri Lankan sides are quite good with spin … and Warne might have anissue here. Warne has been out a long time and he might struggle to getthrough the Sri Lankan batting line-up.” Ranatunga added, “The Australianspin attack is not impressive at all when you see that we have Muraliand others on our side.”Ranatunga had made a pastime out of baiting Warne ever since, on the eve ofthe 1999 World Cup, Warne suggested that the Sri Lankan team would be betteroff without Ranatunga.Ranatunga urged Sri Lanka’s current team to stand up to Australia in thefield. “I don’t know about this team but we used to feel when we gave it[verbally] back to the Australians they would crumble. I was one person whowas always against sledging but that was how it seemed. I’m not sure whatthis [Sri Lankan] team will do.”

Group A
ScorecardEven though Australia beat Sri Lanka by two runs in a thrilling finish at Rajshahi, it was not enough to take them through to the Super League.Australia finished level on points with Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe, but an inferior net run rate meant that they ended up third in the group, and will now compete for the Plate Championship.Another sell-out crowd was treated to a fascinating game that was only decided when Manoj Chanaka was caught off the first ball of the final over with Sri Lanka two runs short. However, in the grand scheme of things, that was meaningless, as after being put into bat and scoring 186 for 9 , Australia needed to restrict Sri Lanka to less than 98 to qualify.At one point, it looked like they were going to do it. Sri Lanka’s top four were all back in the pavilion with only 10 runs on the board as Gary Putland took three of these early wickets.However, Farveez Maharoof joined Kaushal Silva came together for Sri Lanka to steady things down and put them back on track. Scoring at little more than three an over, the pair carried Sri Lanka to safety.After the game, Maharoof, who was named man of the match, said, “It is very difficult to win if the top order don’t score any runs but I am pleased to have scored some runs and I hope we can play much better as a team in the Super League.”Meanwhile, Bennett King, Australia’s coach, praised his team for their attitude.”If our boys had performed the way they did today in the match against Zimbabwe then we would be going to Dhaka tomorrow,” he said. “But instead we are heading to Chittagong to play in the Plate.”

Nottinghamshire’s C&G Trophy game against Wiltshire has been switched to Trent Bridge after heavy rain prevented the tie being completed in the two days initially allocated.”The ECB recognised earlier this week that adverse weather looked likely to result in a number of matches failing to get under way and so approved an additional two reserve days for fixtures in this round," said David Collier, the Notts chief executive. “As a result, our game against Wiltshire will now be played at Trent Bridge on Monday, May 17, with the 18th held in reserve."He added, “We are extremely grateful for the foresight and flexible approach shown by the ECB in allowing this move and for the co-operation of our opponents. As a result of this agreement, cricket will be the winner and we look forward to welcoming Wiltshire to Trent Bridge.”

ScorecardMichael Papps did his chances of playing in next week’s opening Test at Lord’s no harm by scoring an impressive 126 against Kent at Canterbury. He put on an opening stand of 244 with Mark Richardson, who scored 92, as the New Zealanders closed a dominating day on 297 for 2.Papps had struggled earlier on in the tour, but he made a timely return to form, hitting 18 boundaries in his innings and mammoth stand with Richardson. He is expected to make way if Stephen Fleming, the captain, is fit to return to the team, but Papps made the most of two dropped slipped catches early on to post a big score. He survived a straightforward chance to Rob Ferley at second slip on 23, and then David Fulton put down a more difficult slice at first slip off Alamgir Sheriyar with Papps on 34.He and Richardson batted together for almost five hours until David Stiff, who bowled 20 no balls in the day, trapped Papps lbw (244 for 1), and then bowled Richardson shortly after (253 for 2).Those two wickets were welcome relief for Kent, but Nathan Astle and Scott Styris then cashed in on the platform set by Papps and Richardson. Astle, who edged his second delivery from Stiff and was dropped by Matthew Walker at second slip, hit a bright 32 not out, including seven fours, and Styris ended unbeaten on 14.

ScorecardThe nous and obduracy of Somerset’s Peter Bowler, hitting his 45th first-class hundred, proved too much for a largely anodyne Essex attack, meaning that both these counties remained winless in the Championship. Perhaps it would have been different if Danish Kaneria, Essex’s Pakistan legspinner, had been fit. Certainly it felt as though there was a vital ingredient missing from the fourth day.For most of the first three days, this had been a cracking contest – lion-hearted bowling from Andrew Caddick, a big, restorative hundred from Andy Flower, and fine support acts from lower-order batsmen thwacking the boundary boards hard and often.It came as no real surprise that the fourth day couldn’t stay the pace. Even though the spring sun lit up the third evening’s play, the colour had drained from the canvas when Essex ignored the dodgy forecast, batted on way too long and set Somerset a meaningless target of 475.Still, the weather did allow a full morning session. Somerset began at 23 for no wicket and had pushed on to 44 when Neil Edwards edged Scott Brant for 19. If Edwards had some excuse for his dismissal, Cox had none for his. He steered the ball to long leg for a safe single only to turn, inexplicably, for a second. Brant’s inch-perfect throw smacked into James Foster’s gloves and Cox had gone.Given that Essex could not lose, Paul Grayson set astonishingly defensive fields. Two slips and a gully represented his most adventurous gambits in the morning, and even during the afternoon, with Somerset five down, Peter Bowler – admittedly well set in the 90s – had a solitary slip.In an odd sort of way, the strategy worked. No fielders were needed to get rid of Nos 4, 5 and 6 – all bowled either side of the first rain break, which pinched 12 overs. Burns was reddest-faced, shouldering arms and losing his off stump to Graham Napier, though Ian Blackwell should have played forward rather than back.More rain meant an early tea, a signal for all but the real die-hards to filter out of the ground and take solace in Taunton’s nearby shops. But the match had not quite died. Keith Parsons capped a dire four days by chasing a wide ball and giving Foster another catch. It meant Essex had a minimum of 26 overs to take four wickets. The joie de vivre may have gone, but the game still had tension.But all the time, there was Bowler, quietly and obdurately collecting runs. Steadfastly supported by Rob Turner, he reached his third hundred of the season (and his second against Essex) from 175 balls. It was a mature, meticulous innings, befitting county cricket’s oldest pro and its only qualified solicitor, and contained not a false move. Bowler ended unbeaten on 138.But as time passed, the tension eased – and the draw seemed inevitable when the last hour began without a further Essex breakthrough. In fact, they barely had a shout. Half an hour later, the match was called off, with Grayson wondering what might have been.Hugh Chevallier is deputy editor of Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack.

Shane Warne hasn’t ruled out the possibility of Muttiah Muralitharan taking part in the Test series against Australia, even though Murali announced he would not be taking part for personal reasons.Murali, the leading wicket-taker in Tests with 527, is actually due to be in Australia during the series for a promotional event, and Warne, who is only eight wickets behind on the list, won’t be surprised if Murali ends up putting his whites on after all.According to an AAP report, Warne said: “It might be a tactical thing they’re trying, maybe a couple of days before the first Test he might just rock up and play.” He continued, “It’s something I feel might happen. I am not saying it’s definitely going to happen. I just wouldn’t be surprised.”Meanwhile, Warne welcomed the selectors’ decision to recall Stuart MacGill, the legspinner. “He did well up in Darwin and Cairns last year, so if they decide to play two spinners, good,” said Warne. “I am a bit biased. I always like to see the spin bowlers. The more spin bowlers, the better.”The first Test starts at Darwin on Thursday, July 1.

Richie Benaud, the former Australian captain and current doyen of television commentators, has named his World XI of the 20th century. Jack Hobbs, whose England career spanned 23 years, and Sunil Gavaskar, who scored 34 Test centuries for India, open the batting for a team that is made up of four Australians, two West Indians, two Indians, two Englishmen, and one player from Pakistan.Don Bradman makes an appearance at No. 3, followed by Sachin Tendulkar, who is one of three cricketers in the team still playing international cricket, at No.3 and Viv Richards at No. 4. Pakistan’s Imran Khan and the West Indian Garfield Sobers are the two allrounders in the side.Australia’s Adam Gilchrist is the side’s wicketkeeper, batting at No. 8. Rod Marsh may have been more acrobatic, and Ian Healy had more finesse behind the stumps, but Gilchrist’s contribution as a top-class batsman earned him a place in the side: he averages 15 runs per innings more than any other keeper in history, and has a strike-rate of 82 per 100 balls faced in Tests.Shane Warne squeezed into the side, somewhat controversially perhaps, ahead of Muttiah Muralitharan, Sri Lanka’s prodigious offspinner, as the side’s only specialist spinner. Warne is only just behind Muralitharan in the Test bowling record stakes with 527 wickets to Murali’s 532, but Murali has taken his wickets in 21 fewer Tests.Sydney Barnes, who remains the only man to be picked for England while playing league and minor cricket, is one of two specialist fast bowlers in the squad. He took 1432 wickets for Staffordshire at less that nine runs each, and played for the county until he was over 60. The other is Dennis Lillee, who took 355 Test wickets for Australia between 1971 and 1984.Apart from Muralitharan, some notable exceptions from the World XI include Graeme Pollock, the South African batsman, his fast-bowling nephew, Shaun, and New Zealand’s leading wicket-taker Richard Hadlee. Benaud himself would arguably have been in the running for a place in the side himself. As a legspinning allrounder, he took 248 Test wickets at an average of 27.03 in 63 Tests and retired as Australia’s leading wicket-taker at the time.Benaud, 73, is chairman of a five-man selection panel for next month’s ICC Awards that will choose the best World one-day international XI and World Test XI of the year.Benaud’s Greatest XI
1 Jack Hobbs, 2 Sunil Gavaskar, 3 Don Bradman, 4 Sachin Tendulkar, 5 Viv Richards, 6 Imran Khan, 7 Garfield Sobers, 8 Adam Gilchrist, 9 Shane Warne, 10 Sydney Barnes, 11 Dennis Lillee.Click here to buy your DVD of Richie Benaud’s Greatest XI

Tim Anderson, the ICC’s East Asia-Pacific (EAP) regional development manager, was accompanied by Cricket Australia deputy chairman, Creagh O’Connor, on a recent visit to Japan.O’Connor, on his return from an Australian Test Series in India, joined Mr Anderson to view first-hand the progress the ICC EAP region has made in recent years, and specifically the development of cricket in Japan. His attendance is a further example of the excellent support the EAP region receives from regional full members, Cricket Australia and New Zealand Cricket.The visit schedule included trips to Shizuoka and Fuji, two of the most established cricket venues in Japan, and a formal dinner hosted by the South African ambassador to Japan, Dr BS Nqubane.

An already struggling Pakistan side had more cause for worry with Inzamam-ul-Haq showing no signs of recovering from a back problem which had kept him off the field for long periods during the Perth Test, which Pakistan lost by a massive 491 runs. Inzamam underwent bone scans and blood tests in Perth on Monday, Sydney Morning Herald reported, but Bob Woolmer, the Pakistan coach, said that the cause of the worry had still not been diagnosed.”He’s gone through a series of tests because he’s got this back and stomach problem. Hopefully he’s OK,” Woolmer said. “He gets this ailment quite often now, so we need to get it tested out properly. We thought it might be a uric acid problem, but they threw that out. The doctors are going through tests to eliminate each possibility until they know what it is.”It hurts him bending down, sitting, it hurts him all the time. He told me he will play but that he needs to get it sorted out. It doesn’t help him batting. He’s restricted. It’s a strange ailment. We probably need to get him in the swimming pool.” Inzamam is currently on antibiotics to ensure that he plays the Boxing Day Test at Melbourne.There was better news on Shoaib Akhtar, though. Shoaib had hurt his left shoulder while diving in the outfield, but tests revealed that he hadn’t torn a cartilege, and was recovering well with physiotherapy.Meanwhile, there was some help on the cards for the beleaguered Woolmer when he informed that Bob Simpson, the former captain and coach of Australia, had called on him and could work with the team during the Sydney Test. “Bobby Simpson called me, which was very kind,” Woolmer told the daily. “We had a long chat about what we were doing. I’ve always recognised Simpson as the father of international coaches. He took Australia from the depths to winning.”However, Woolmer quickly cautioned that the fans couldn’t expect immediate solutions. “He [Simpson] worked miracles in five-and-a-half years,” Woolmer said. “You can’t work miracles overnight, you need a period of time.”Woolmer also informed that the team had a long and useful meeting after the Perth debacle. “It was very good. Inzamam was excellent and the players responded very well. We had to have a huge reality check on all aspects of the cricket we’re playing, and how we practise. All the players said they enjoyed the meeting and are looking forward to the next challenge now. I’m not going to promise anything. At least [the pitches in] Melbourne and Sydney are easier to bat on for Asian cricketers. Perth’s always been a tough one.”

Sri Lanka Cricket have secured the services of five trauma-counselling experts from the United States to train up the volunteers who will be working in their Cricket-Aid emergency relief camps over the coming months.A five-day training programme commenced on Monday conducted by the Green Cross Assistance Program, which is part of the Florida State University’s Academy of Traumatology.The programme is considered vital to help ensure that hundreds of traumatised tsumani victims are provided emotional support as they seek to rebuild their lives in the face of terrible grief.Sri Lanka Cricket have also announced that their Mullaitivu refugee camp on the east coast is now operational and this will replace plans for a relief camp to be set-up at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium.In Ampara, the worst hit area in the island where 11,000 are already confirmed dead, officials have offered Sri Lanka Cricket a 60-acre plot for the construction of a `Cricket Village’ – a long term housing project for 50 families.In addition, Sri Lanka Cricket, boosted by the success of their fundraising efforts so far, have extended their proposed plan to help re-build Sinhapura College in Arugam Bay, a popular beach resort and fishing village in the same area.Sri Lanka Cricket’s Cricket-Aid programme is a two-pronged disaster assistance fund designed to provide emergency relief in the short term and long-term housing for those that have lost their homes.The board has set a revenue target of $2 million but several large pledges so far, from World Vision and New Zealand Cricket, leaves them with a possible opportunity to expand a programme designed to support over 1000 people.